BR projects Oweh will be drafted: EDIT: Oweh Withdraws!

[Joneslab]

Folks, this is a “no crap” comment coming up….

This is the lead-in to a potentially great season. Excitement abounds. It’s going to be a lot of fun!

Yes sir.

I'm gonna say Kentucky will be right around the top 5 to start the season. Houston probably cemented #1 yesterday, Purdue #2, Florida possibly #3, maybe Auburn at #4 (I tend to think Auburn will be quite a ways below where they were even with Pettiford), then a small group of teams that will include Kentucky and Louisville.

Not that it matters. Still awesome.

[DA#23]

We’ve got a few things to watch over the summer, most importantly the healing process for Jayden Quaintance. Getting back on the court will be huge.

Brandon Garrison…a guy who has shown bursts of potential, has to take a step forward on multiple fronts. His consistency and leadership will be needed as we watch his play improve as well.

Chandler also represents a much needed opportunity for improvement. He ended the season as a promising freshman and now we get to see what this staff can do for guys like that as sophomores.

We add extremely talented transfers in Lowe, Dioubate, and Aberdeen. What degree of toughness and will to win do these guys add? They bring winning pedigrees and it’s the staff’s job to blend them in with the returnees. Very exciting.

Moreover, the staff had some big shoes to fill, they came out swinging, and they hit on basically each front. This was a hugely successful off season. But wait, that’s not all!! Mark Pope kept the staff together as well. He’s got some young, hungry guys and I’d assume some move on in the next couple of years…but not yet. Just huge for the continuity of this program

[EKYCat]

The Cats are loaded and it feels good to be excited about them. There's a real shot to do some damage next year and I hope they capitalize and figure out how to play together. Pope is going to have some minutes to divvy up amongst several talented players. That's something Cal was actually really good at. Managing egos and getting a bunch of guys to buy in isn't always easy. I think this group gets it and has a real shot!

[Joneslab]

What's wild is how different the team looks.

Last year was built mostly around shooting and skill. This team is built around size and versatility and athleticism. Should be able to hold our own athletically with anybody; last year that wasn't the case.

Also have frontcourt depth (assuming Quaintance stays on track), and that was badly missing last year.

In short: a really big improvement roster-wise than what we were looking at on June 1, 2024.

[DA#23]

KC made a post yesterday comparing starting 5 to starting 5 that suggested improvement at each position, which I found really interesting because last year's team demonstrated some extreme variation due to recurrent, no, incessant injuries.

Are we better at each spot when last year's players were at their peaks, individually? That never happened at the same time.

[KCKUKFan]

3 week thread, 27 pages, 396 posts. He’s also on record in about 100 of those posts saying he thought Oweh would go but HOPES he stays. He was wrong. What the crap is the big deal?? How many others on this forum have predicted stuff that didn’t come to fruition? I don’t get it.

Go Cats.

It's not a big deal, but it sure is entertaining.

[Joneslab]

KC made a post yesterday comparing starting 5 to starting 5 that suggested improvement at each position, which I found really interesting because last year's team demonstrated some extreme variation due to recurrent, no, incessant injuries.

Are we better at each spot when last year's players were at their peaks, individually? That never happened at the same time.

It's hard to say right now having not seen them, but definitely we have more dudes than we did last season. The bench will be considerably better. The frontcourt bench will be WORLDS better.

The one position I'd be hesitant about would be Aberdeen and Robinson. Before Robinson went down, he was playing at a level that was kind of crazy. The guy went a couple weeks there and didn't freaking miss. Aberdeen looks to be a more versatile player but he doesn't have a proven record as a scorer like Robinson did.

[KCKUKFan]

So to be clear, it went down to the wire.

Except it really didn't.

The guy filmed his return video and informed the staff he was coming back way back in early April.

It came down to the wire for the fans, because we are all psychos.

[KCKUKFan]

KC made a post yesterday comparing starting 5 to starting 5 that suggested improvement at each position, which I found really interesting because last year's team demonstrated some extreme variation due to recurrent, no, incessant injuries.

Are we better at each spot when last year's players were at their peaks, individually? That never happened at the same time.

We will have to see. Amari Williams was a unique player, and his effectiveness in Popes system will be hard to replace. Especially if Quaintance isn't 100%.

We definitely are more athletic, more versatile and have more depth.

[Joneslab]

I believe the plan was to always come back, hence the video. However I do think Norlander had some intel there a couple days ago and Oweh did get some teams who were probably interested, but he obviously couldn't get a guarantee.

The fact that he had the workout scheduled on the last day was probably the reason for waiting until the absolute deadline, but I do think he got extremely favorable responses from teams. Makes sense because of how he played in those 5 on 5's.

[Joneslab]

.....

[KCKUKFan]

It's hard to say right now having not seen them, but definitely we have more dudes than we did last season. The bench will be considerably better. The frontcourt bench will be WORLDS better.

The one position I'd be hesitant about would be Aberdeen and Robinson. Before Robinson went down, he was playing at a level that was kind of crazy. The guy went a couple weeks there and didn't freaking miss. Aberdeen looks to be a more versatile player but he doesn't have a proven record as a scorer like Robinson did.

This can go back to when I was having that little tiff with you last February, questioning exactly how good some of our better players were.

It's clear, just by looking at this roster, that there are levels to "good." Last year's guys were good enough to set a foundation for the program; this year's team appears to have DUDES.

[Joneslab]

This can go back to when I was having that little tiff with you last February, questioning exactly how good some of our better players were.

It's clear, just by looking at this roster, that there are levels to "good." Last year's guys were good enough to set a foundation for the program; this year's team appears to have DUDES.

Last year's team got criticized for not shooting enough threes...but in the end, we hit as many threes as we had since the early '90s. That was a big reason why Kentucky was able to beat so many good teams. Plus it was versatile: Oweh on the drive, Brea and Robinson from outside, Williams probing as a point-center. Difficult team to guard.

And you don't beat the teams that team did with just average players.

This team just has more. Plus it got the best player from last year's team back. And added depth...depth in the frontcourt being the most glaring problem we had.

It'll be very disappointing if this team isn't in the hunt for a Final Four. Everything is there. Last year was more of a surprise.

[DA#23]

The staff was pretty open about addressing physicality and defensive ability, and they did exactly that with their portal signees. You'd think that the floor for this will be quite a bit higher and that they won't lose games to teams like OSU and Georgia.

It's hard telling if they can peak offensively like last year...having a Kobe Brea on the team is a luxury. We have to hope that the returning players improve and that the transfers benefit via Pope's offensive system.

I have to think that they will, btw. It's a major selling point for the program .

[Joneslab]

Lost in all that yesterday was that Alabama's Labarron Philon is returning.

Philon, Pettiford, Condon, and Oweh could theoretically be the top four players in the league and all spurned the NBA.

Still don't think it's going to be the same league it was last year, but it'll be tough sledding for UK again against the top.